The following description is provided solely to assist the understanding of the present invention. None of the references cited or information provided is admitted to be prior art to the present invention. All patents and other references cited in the specification are incorporated by reference in their entireties, including any tables and figures, to the same extent as if each reference had been incorporated by reference in its entirety individually.
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. The most commonly used and accepted methods for determining risk of future heart disease include evaluating serum levels of cholesterol and lipoproteins in light of patient demographics and current health. There are well established recommendations for cut-off values for biochemical markers for determining risk, including, for example without limitation cholesterol and lipoprotein levels. However, cholesterol and lipoprotein measurements are clearly not the sole contributors to cardiovascular disease because as many as 50% of people who are at risk for premature heart disease are currently not encompassed by the ATP III guidelines (i.e., Adult Treatment Panel III guidelines issued by the National Cholesterol Education Program and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute).